BBC Panorama spotlights Fergus Wilson sell-off

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Private Landlords:

A BBC panorama programme aired on Monday (18^th
March) and available on BBC iPlayer shows a less than flattering picture of the
methods used by of Britain’s most controversial private landlord.

The programme states that hundreds Mr Wilson’s tenants face
eviction as one of Britain’s biggest landlords decides to liquidate his property
empire.

The Wilsons, husband and wife, both former teachers, built-up
one of Britain’s biggest private landlord portfolios throughout the 1990s and naughtiest,
until they eventually owned around 1,000 houses in Kent.

Having sold a large proportion of their portfolio a couple
of years ago to foreign investors, they were still left with a large chunk to
manage, often finding themselves in deep controversy when they were taken to
court for various matters, including discrimination.

Using the section 21 “no-fault� eviction process on such a large
scale to evict tenants en-masss, it is argued, is bringing the procedure, and
private landlording into disrepute. This is especially so when currently this
right for landlords to be able to evict tenants without giving a reason is
being questioned in many quarters.

True to form, and highly controversially, Fergus Wilson says
in the programme there are two types of tenant: “those who agree with me
and ex-tenants”

Hundreds of his tenants now face eviction after Wilson decided
to sell his entire property portfolio, looking to retire from the business after
the series of court battles over the way he has treated his tenants.

Mr Wilson and wife Judith still own around 300 properties in
Kent, having made millions from their buy-to-let empire over a 20 year period
or so, and they became infamous for their Draconian letting rules. Mr Wilson
appears to have developed a particular disdain for plumbers.

A total of 90 Section 21 notices are reputedly being
delivered to tenants, allowing two months to vacate, and Mr Wilson commented on
their plight by saying:

“I do feel sad for people who are going to be homeless, it
will be hardest for parents with young children, because most landlords won’t
accept them.

“I also feel sad selling the houses. We have built them up
over the years but we can’t take them to the grave with us.

“We haven’t thought about what we will do with the money
yet, I’m not going to buy a Rolls-Royce or anything like that.

“I could do that now – it is money down the drain,â€� he told Kentonline.co.uk.

Mr Wilson had indicated that he is in sale discussions with several
investors and some from India and Nigeria.

Councillor Gerald White of Ashford Borough Council said that
the authority would be helping evicted tenants “as much as we can�, and that “Mr
Wilson is a landlord, he is well within his legal rights to do what he wants
with his properties whether that’s to sell or rent them.�

Previously, under their strict guidelines, the Wilson’s have
refused to take people on zero-hours contracts, single parents, some ethnic
minorities and those on benefits.

Wilson, who had spent weeks filming with Panorama, said he
wanted to give a landlord’s perspective on the UK’s housing market and believes
there is an urgent need to build more housing.

There are now more than 10 million people living in private
rented accommodation according to the programme, but Mr Wilson said private
landlords cannot cater for all of them.

Mr Wilson thought that housing benefit tenants were not getting
paid enough to keep up with their rent payments and therefore were going into arrears.

Having purchased their first rental property in 1991 the
Wilsons estimate that they have provided housing for around 10,000 tenants.

Although the couple expect to sell many of their properties
to large-scale investors, hoping the tenants will be retained, he is
unapologetic for issuing 90 eviction notices with some more to follow.

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